Third degree burn. Man's arm showing extensive burns from contact with hot pitch. Pitch burns are often severe as pitch tends to stick to the affected area, causing more damage. Here, the burn has destroyed the skin at far right (whitened), and has caused bleeding and tissue death over the rest of the arm. In cases like this, infection is common and hard to avoid, and the victim usually goes into shock, which may be fatal in itself. Burns are classified according to the damage they do. Blistering is classed as a second degree burn. Third degree burns such as this destroy the entire skin thickness, and may expose muscle and bone.